Reflect, Review, Reset

Reflect, Review, Reset

Our intentions at the beginning of 2021 may have been a little different from how things actually played out. It's been an interesting year and some people I have spoken to are just wanting 2021 to be over and done with and they are ready to move on to 2022.

Now, I get why you might be feeling that way about 2021 and, it's a great opportunity to reflect, review and reset so we can create useful meanings to things we have experienced over the year and take those things forward into 2022 with renewed optimism and energy.

Reflect            

When you think back over the past year, what is it that immediately comes to mind? What have been those keystone moments? What are the memories that instantly come to mind for you and what meaning have you attached to those memories? Sometimes we experience things and create meaning that doesn't always serve us that well into the future.

If you have had some painful experiences over this year and you have now created some 'rules' or 'beliefs' around what that means for you, check in and ask yourself if the meaning you are applying is going to be useful for you moving forward. If not, change the meaning. You can do this by looking through the lens of learning - what was the key learning this experience gave you that you can take forward from this point on.

When we reflect back over the year, what is it that we are grateful for? What have been the blessings over the year that have helped us create meaningful moments, not only for ourselves but for the people and the environment around us?

Review

Now take a moment to review the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of 2021. How have you gone with those?

Sometimes we plan goals for ourselves but fail to take action. In the goal grid below, take a look at any goals you didn't follow through on and see if you can identify where you got stuck. All of these stages are useful in our goal setting but we don't want to get stuck and not progress all the way through to achieving our goals.

• The TALKER quadrant is the person who talks, A LOT, about their goals but never takes action.

• The DREAMER quadrant is the person who really speaks about their goals with passion but for some reason, are still not taking action and are seriously running the risk of slipping back into the Talker quadrant!

• The PLANNER quadrant is the person who has thoroughly planned out their goals, maybe they have used the SMART goal process or something similar for this. Often the action taken in this quadrant is more around planning the goal than actually achieving the goal itself - picture lots of things on paper but no real action being taken!

• The ACHIEVER quadrant is where we all want to be - Achievers are fully connected and committed to their goals and are taking action regularly, adjusting their actions based on the feedback they are getting, and consistently moving forward to achieve their outcome.

  Dan Sullivan in his book The Gap and The Gain talks about the importance of measuring what we have achieved (the gain) as opposed to measuring what we haven't achieved (the gap). Measuring the gain leaves us feeling motivated and successful. Measuring the gap can sometimes leave us feeling like we haven't quite measured up and that we have failed in some way. Measure the gain and then set the next few tasks to help you continue to move toward your goal.

  Reset

  Okay, so now we want to take a moment to reset and start planning for 2022.

  
  I love Brian Tracy's book Eat That Frog and I use this every year when I go through my Reset process. It's a very easy practical book and using this book as a guide will help you create not only meaningful goals but will also help you set some priorities and a way to keep your goals front and center as you embark on the next year.
  
  One of the key things, when we set our goals, is we want to ensure they are goals we can achieve and the SMART goal process helps us with this (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic-Relevant-Resourced, Timebound). We should all write down our goals by ensuring we have gone through the SMART process.
  
  But that is not always enough - just think back to the goals you reviewed above and where you got stuck in the goal grid. A few years ago, I developed the HOLISTIC goal process to sit alongside the SMART goal process. That way we were not only committed to our goals but we're connected to them also. Both ingredients are essential if you want to follow through on the things you want to achieve. HOLISTIC goals are:

So, take some time for yourself and reflect, review and reset. By doing this your 2022 will be more on point and intentional and you will have the desire, commitment, and motivation to make it all happen - just the way you want.

Enjoy the holidays, Happy New Year, and if you need some help, don't hesitate to reach out.

Lead with impact!